Jimmy Needham - 'Not Without Love'

Fans of Amos Lee, Gavin DeGraw and John Mayer will love this release. Jimmy Needham is one of those rare gems that might not have made a huge splash with this debut release, Speak (even though it was an excellent album), but Not Without Love is one of those goodies that simply will not be ignored.

Not Without Love is good ... rainy day good; sun shining, convertable top down good; snow outside and a fire roaring in the fireplace good. Jimmy Needham has delivered another solid project that works regardless of what room you put it in.

When Jimmy Needham released his debut album in August of 2006, I loved it. Speak showed the world that this young story-teller had plenty to say and the talent to say it well. Not Without Love picks right up where Speak left off. The stories are still there, just as rich and full and honest as their predecessors and the music is still full of love and life and promise.

The beauty of Not Without Love is that the entire CD can be enjoyed by Christians and non-Christians alike. It doesn't preach to the choir (or to the rest of the world), it tells stories of real life. And like all living things, that means ups and downs and all those points in between.

Take "Hurricane" for example, a bluesy song about being broken. The message is one we've heard before; we need God to break us so that he can use us in the manner in which He intended in the first place. But the story that tells that story isn't your typical "break me Lord" one. For all those that have built their lives in a way that they think "works" for them, this song resonates with truth.

I need you like a hurricane
Thunder crashing, wind and rain
To tear my walls down

Another great story is that of a kid named "Tossed By The Wind." Young tossed grew up in a family that taught him about the love of Christ. He grew up and went off to college where many of the "educated" pointed out time and time again how flawed his "Jesus logic" was. Young Tossed finds his faith tainted by education.

On an up note, "The Author" is a wonderful praise song to God.

Thanks to your love every I was dotted
Thanks to your love every T was crossed
All of heaven and all of earth acknowledge
You're the Author of the story of the glory of God

The whole album is like that ... up and down, real life, real issues, real answers for real people. Jimmy Needhamd has done it again with Not Without Love.